#which is a valid interpretation too

[jesncin]

Purely sharing just cuz I think it's funny so don't go looking for anyone over this: I think I got subtweeted on here once from a Hellblazer fan who didn't like how I interpreted the canon Golden Boy storyline (because who else talks about Goldie as much as I do) and someone replied saying "comic fans read comics challenge" and I just have to laugh. Like that's so deeply funny.

Ah yes do point to me the many cartoons, tv shows, movies, and video games that feature iconic recurring Vertebrae Hellblazer rogue The Golden Boy. Do tell me what beautiful Lestat-esque actor they got to play as my guy in the Keanu movie or Legends of Tomorrow or the NBC show. Because I clearly don't read the comics right. I'm a pleb who only interacts with the sanitized shallow adaptations of this character. I should read the original source material! And stop basing ideas of this popular character on fanon, how foolish of me.

Anyway I take all this in good faith, I know there's a lot of teens on here who just kind of lash out and act gatekeepy over their white man blorbo- they don't need a 30 year old author on them. Just chill out, we're all here to have fun. But I can find humor in these things haha.

[rei-does-stuff]

I really don’t think it’s insane or a stretch to see Mikage as an akio like figure

Like yes, hes not really an adult, I see him as 18, but he’s on that cusp, technically he is an adult but in reality he isn’t, I see him as this sort of failed dios type of character

Like Akio uses Anthy, Mikage uses Mamiya as an excuse for his actions, as an excuse for his want for eternity, and with Mamiya being a parallel (and in the end being anthy) it makes the connection even more clear to me

Their relationship is subtle, and whilst I don’t think Mikage did anything to the REAL Mamiya the way he acts with the fake one is very telling, the finger kiss, the scene where Mamiya is putting his clothes back on and mikage says he’s better suited as a rose BRIDE and not a rose groom, it clearly tells a story esp with Mamiya clearly being younger (probably around 14 since the parallel with anthy would make sense for them to be the same age) to me, their relationship tells a predatory image similar to that of Akio and Anthy

Not only this but the structure of the story too, Akio’s car scenes replacing the elevator scenes, I think it all adds up

I also believe he’s this sort of foreshadowing to Akio in the third arc, the scenes line up too much

Like Akio as Dios, Mikage is no longer the person he once was as professor Nemuro, the only difference is that Mikage ultimately failed because he couldn’t connect with others the way Akio could, he can’t successfully manipulate others the way he can, though you could also say the same about Akio in the end too

[radiomogai]

excuse me, you recently related a post with a tag asking if people remembered when people cared about recoining things and I’ve been thinking about it and I’m wondering if you meant that caring about recoining was good or bad?

We dislike re-coining. I don't have the spoons to explain the full part of it, but it mostly comes down to our more general criticisms of the extent of individualism in the MOGAI community (recoins, especially when they are of terms that have already been coined many times, often feel as though they are disregarding the contributions of other coiners, as well as ignoring the community symbol purpose of flags) and it feels disrespectful to the work of archivists. Every time we see another gender related to the song I/Me/Myself by Will Wood and nothing else, we feel like our work and our efforts in not only preventing terms from being lost as well as making them so easy to search for is, uh. Pointless. Not valued. We've spoken about this with some other archivists who have said they feel the same.

There are five (5) genders related to that song on our blog alone, by the way, and that's only counting the ones that have no other specifications. There are also five (5) related to the album Everything Is A Lot, and four (4) related to the song Thermodynamic Lawyer, and four (4) related to The Normal Album. Again, this is only counting ones without any other specifications, and are only the ones posted on our blog. This is a regular thing.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

being a zelinker that enjoys nuance and the pairing not being the sole focus of this series is like being killed by rocks. I can only imagine how it feels like for ganon mains

hahaha well yeah I feel like. I don't mind Zelink at all, especially in certain games, and I love them having this special transcendant bond; but I feel like people who do insist Zelda games are about Zelink and nothing else, and having any other kind of HC about what their relationship means is akin to blasphemy is not that encouraging for creative interpretations overall.

[spideyhexx]

feel like some people don’t comprehend that partially the point of tbosas is that you can sympathize with Coryo. It never excuses his actions nor does it try to, but it’s way more complicated than Coryo just being ‘psycho’

[throwupgirl]

thats at least how i remember it. riverdale comes out in 2017 and tumblr asexuals tore it to pieces bc they were mad jughead was getting bitches.

[1very1fancy1doilies1]

If Annie's nose grew longer whenever she denied her feelings for Armin, how long would her nose be?

honestly, I feel like Annie doesn't deny her feelings for Armin, at least not to herself. maybe she'd avoid divulging her feelings to other characters to avoid ridicule?

I think Annie is pretty honest with herself when it comes to her feelings for Armin, and so her nose would remain its original length :P

[dxxtruction]

///

[gamebunny-advance]

I didn't get a chance to vote on the poll, but also noticed what would have been my answer wasn't there so I'm writing it in now- I personally see it as he's their CREATOR first, manager second. They don't call him manager in a lot of materials, and they also don't call him father, they call him "Captain" or "sir," (this being pulled from largely the additional voice actor's portrayals at least, which I think are worth at least considering in a wider scope of interpretation)

That feels like the title or nickname he'd prefer they use, hence programming them TO use it for him- and that betrays neither fatherly intent nor producer intent, but pre-existing intent he didn't change (lifting from prior coding) or that he preferred. Beyond that he definitely refers to them as troops- it is their aesthetic, but it's more impersonal

the items you get for the lore on 1010 are toys, and while it's not stated, I've always thought there was an implication that he had made them- His relationship then isn't one of a father to sons, but of a creator about his creations, which IS different. It's why he's as willing to literally throw them at you in combat and, simultaneously, seemingly instinctively, puts a hand out in front of himself to protect them when the final attack is coming- even if they are tools to some degree, he MADE them what they are and he's PROUD of that- He doesn't want to see his work destroyed

Obviously this gets increasingly more complicated if you believe that 1010 gain sapience of some degree, but I still think the relationship isn't quite what I'd call fatherhood. He is simultaneously all the family they have and deeply, inherently unlike them- yet there is undeniably pieces of him and influences from him present in them, because every creation will reflect its creator in some way, in ways they can't even predict

Then, y'know, yeah, it's being a manager time. Ultimately he's gotta organize them and tell them what to do- how he feels about that could be a variety of ways, but he is doing it nonetheless, so something about it matters to him as well- likely the vow to serve the city thing, if leading a boyband is the way to ensure the lights stay on, then he's going to do it 'till his heart gives out.

To start, I do think you're getting a little caught up in the semantics of the poll, but since you're making the case that "creator" is different from "father," I'll hear you out.

And tbh, I really like that interpretation. It's a little more nuanced from what I'm used to seeing, and it is giving me something to sink my teeth into.

I do differ in that I don't think Neon J. personally made the toys or the base 1010: I felt like the implication of the MKI - MKIII standee was that 1010 has actually been around since the wartime era, since MKI 1010 are build more similarly to the recycled battlebots in the Metro Division. Parallel to that, I think it's implied that Neon J. is a cyborg due to suffering injuries in the war. Since they appeared to exist at the same time, it seemed more likely to me that 1010 and NJ's body originated from the same source, but not that NJ was necessarily the direct creator of either them or the toys. (Though, I will admit that knowing that the toy company is called "J-1" does imply that he has something to do with it. But to rectify that, I'm gonna say that he just bought out the company/factory, but he didn't start them.)

But that's just an argument of history. Both interpretations can still lead to the "creator" theory in the sense that NJ still views 1010 impersonally, but still fondly. Even if he didn't make the base, he still turned them into what they are today, which is still a lot of hard work and dedication to the craft.

It's not making him out to be this overly sentimental guy (which is ultimately what I dislike about most "father first" interpretations), but he's also not heartless, and I like that. It's retaining what many interpretations (including mine, sadly) sometimes miss out on, and that's that he's an artist, just like all the other stars. He values his craft, and 1010 are the result of that, for better or worse.

[toastling]

Sleepless in New York at 6am, the neighborhood breakfast attempts to express a coherent thought about an incoherent nag of his past ten years

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

BTTWS thought: I don't quite know what the consensus is for the song being about, but I kind of wonder if it is partially sort of her accepting/grieving losing the dreams she had based on it being on her depression playlist and how it speaks to a specific type of loss even if the loss is the idea of those things.

I'm not sure if there is a consensus because obviously songs are up for interpretation, and I think it's one of those things we just end up leaving to personal experience on main.

I will say that I can easily see how it's read as the loss of the person you were or hoped you'd be, or the dreams you had for your future, and that's a totally valid personal interpretation of it. (That was my interpretation of it on my first few listens of Midnights, actually, though it's changed since then.)

I've written a few posts about BTTWS, but my tl;dr about it is that whatever the actual inspiration for it was, the resounding theme out of it is grief and loss, and is part of the overarching "what if?" of Midnights. (Unfortunately Tumblr's search function is garbage so I can't find them but this was one and so is this one about grief.) I wrote a long-ass essay about the 3am tracks, but one of the things that jumped out to me was that WCS, for instance, is about losing one's faith, and BTTWS is partially about how one deals with loss again when that faith is already long gone.

I do absolutely think the song was on the Depression playlist for a reason (and I think I've posted about that numerous times lol) and the loss of a future you'd dreamed of is probably right on the money *broadly speaking*, which is a theme that is so prevalent on TTPD. As I've also said, TTPD is mainly an album about grief (of all kinds) and that is the song on Midnights that I think is the entry point into understanding TTPD. (Because grief in whatever form it comes in and in whatever origin can cause an avalanche of consequences on your life.)

[silhouettecrow]

365 Days of Poems: Day 6 (January 6th)

Godly Poison

I sowed and cultivated these plants myself

I brought them to life to bear fruit and flower

with my own bare hands and the loving patience of a proud parent

angel wings

autumn crocus

belladonna

calla lily

daphne

death camas

doll's eyes

foxglove

hemlock

larkspur

laurel

monkshood

moonflower

moonseed

mountain arnica

oleander

pokeweed

privet

ruti

snakeweed

and when the tide told me the time was right

I prepared and presented a feast full of my children

to Him

He who

says what He ought not say

touches what He ought not touch

takes what He ought not take

I admit

I took pleasure in His pain

as He once did with mine

blood pouring from His mouth

His body thrashing and convulsing in his chair

fear and sheer terror invading His wide eyes

I smiled through it all

and when his heart finally stopped

mine soared and I finally felt free

I know

one day

I'll be forgiven for what I had to do

and I know

He is not destined for any kindness

in the next life

- - - - -

Here's the link to the corresponding writing prompt post

[benadril]

Funniest thing ever ever forever is when a popular bully desperately tries to get me to like them but fails miserably

[bulletsandbracelets]

That’s why you do need to do your research and come with questions - a part of that research does need to be ensuring your doctor doesn’t have an opinionated stance on medicine beyond what is best for their patient.

It is telling about the discourse though that you claim withholding of care is a huge issue and conservatives claim over abundance of care (and lack of proper “checks”) is an issue. I’d believe you before them, for the record! Most experience I’ve seen tells me you are right. But we really need to be careful how we talk about these things.

Systemic processes, and guidelines of care in medicine, are important and are gained through hard lessons. Doctors need to be the ones establishing them, but they need to be doing it in a way that doesn’t allow personal bias to interfere. Research has to be the guide, and right now, that is usually the case. The reason trans care is under addressed is because it is a minority situation - and we need to improve that. Absolutely. (Publicizing healthcare and medical research would be a nice start)

We just can’t play into conservative narratives, and this attack on legitimate scientific reasoning, in the process. Doctors are biased, human, and make mistakes. There’s a lot of things that need fixing in the field. But they don’t tend to be malicious on purpose - and they absolutely aren’t government agents intent on ruining todays youth, or whatever the hell line conservative outlets try to sell.

yes, doctors suck, but also "the medical ethics and patient interaction training doctors receive reinforces ableism" and "the hyper competitive medical school application process roots out the poor, the disabled, and those who would diversify the field" and "anti-establishment sentiment gets applications rejected and promotions requests denied, weeding out the doctors on our side" and "the gruesome nature of the job and the complete lack of mental health support for medical practitioners breeds apathy towards patients" and "insurance companies often define treatment solely on a cost-analysis basis" and "doctors take on such overwhelming student loan debt they have no choice but to pursue high paying jobs at the expense of their morals" are all also true

none of this absolves doctors of the truly horrendous things they say and do to patients, but it's important to acknowledge that rather than every doctor being coincidentally a bad person, there is something specific about this field and career path that gives rise to such high prevalence of ableist attitudes

and I WILL elaborate happily

[rampant-testiculitis]

the stars aligned in my personality so that everything i convey is either a warped version of what was intended something blatantly different

[chamerionwrites]

Honestly this gets at my chiefest complaint/frustration/discomfort with fandom as a whole. Which is: in their rush to defend the artistic merit of fanworks I think a ton of people have really valorized transformation and remixing and reinterpretation in and of themselves, when imo those are all quite neutral actions. When done well, they can expand and build upon and subvert meaning in really powerful and thought-provoking (and fun!) ways. When done poorly, they are just as likely to flatten and oversimplify and decontextualize and completely erase meaning. The simple act of changing something does not imbue the choice to do so with creative validity. It is entirely possible for a cover song to be bad (or just boring!). To exactly the same degree that it is possible to transform a pretty shallow and straightforward work into something deeper and more nuanced and subversive, is possible to transform a work into a vastly shallower and less interesting shadow of itself. As with nearly everything in art, it's all about the execution!

But the second you voice this position (which should honestly be a pretty uncontroversial one imo), you get people shrieking at you about being gatekeep-y and pretentious and betraying the sacred fandom etiquette of Don't-Like-Don't-Read.

And like...listen. I was not raised in a barn. I am 150% capable of quietly back-buttoning out of a fanfic I think is bad or boring - which is exactly what I do when I encounter them - and I am obviously not advocating for stupid ships wars or any kind of harassment or leaving hatemail in people's AO3 inboxes. (Which some people will also accuse you of the second you say anything less than lavishly positive about fandom, in true piss-on-the-poor fashion.) Literally all I am saying is that you can't have your cake and eat it too - that if fandom and fanworks (in the broadest sense) have artistic merit then fandom and fanworks (in the broadest sense) are fair game for artistic critique. Which means, in practice, that I can go on my own blog and make a post exactly like this one - critiquing broad trends, or stating that some interpretations are bad actually, or pointing out that subverting or talking back to or reading against the grain of canon is very different from simply ignoring it, or saying "fandom's culture of collage/remix/fuck-canon-I-do-what-I-want can lend itself to to really creative and interesting art but also to a lot of really bland homogenized cut-n-paste art, not to mention some pretty troubling decontextualization." And that if you feel this rains on your personal parade, you are then free to DLDR by back-buttoning out of my blog and/or blocking me so you never have to see my hot takes again, rather than clamoring in my notes about how I should let people enjoy things.